Whether you're shelling out for gas, repairs, or insurance, let us steer you to smart savings

Most Read

It costs the average car owner about $4,225 per year to own an auto, including maintenance, repairs, insurance, and ever-spiking gas prices. Short of riding a bike around town, what else can be done to tame the expense? Lots. Here, six smart strategies that will put you on the road to major savings.

1. Find gas for less

These days, it's easy to drain your debit card while you fill your tank. Prices had climbed steeply to a national average of $3.95 per gallon as we went to press, so finding a bargain is vital. One terrific tool is the website gasbuddy.com — or download the free phone app, which is handy on the road. In my zip code, GasBuddy found prices ranging from $3.81 to $3.93. Another option: AAA's TripTik Mobile free phone app (available to all, not just AAA members), which pinpoints stations and prices so you can comparison-shop. Consider the pumps at Costco, too, an unlikely but often price-wise source (hence the long lines). At press time, if I drove to the Costco in the next town, I could fill up for $3.79 per gallon, a savings of about $2.45 per tank. It adds up. (And if you're in the market for a new, fuel-efficient car, turn to page 103 for the results of our GHRI testing.)

2. Stop getting ripped off on repairs

Service fees can range from a manageable $37 (for a Jiffy Lube oil change, done in about 20 minutes) to a painful $155 or more for hourly labor charges, depending on the provider. Dealers, especially high-end ones, charge the most. Case in point: Right before Christmas last year, our Honda dealer said I should replace the front and back brake pads on our 2005 CR-V for $250 each. But I had just spent $501.56 on our routine 120,000-mile checkup, so Santa was tapped dry. Then I logged on to automd.com (a car-repair pricing resource) for an estimate based on car model, part, labor, and zip code, and the cost was $159.79 each for the pads — a potential savings of $200 overall. Shocked? Don't be. "That kind of price discrepancy isn't unusual," says Shane Evangelist, president of automd.com. Dealers usually charge more, he says, partly because they have pricier, high-tech diagnostic equipment and factory-trained technicians.

Your best defense against budget-busting charges is to do your research before you take your car in for repairs. Call around for estimates; plug in your zip code at automd.com for a fast, free list of local shops to check with. And when you do have work done, Evangelist recommends asking up front for your old parts back in the new-part boxes — that's your proof that you're really getting what you pay for.

3. Deflate your insurance bill

Zero in on your state's auto-insurance discounts. They range from an antilock-brake discount (5% off your liability premium in New York State) to a good-student discount (available nationally for young drivers with a current grade average of B or higher). Search for "auto insurance discounts" at statefarm.com for a listing by state. Then go to third-party search engines to compare quotes and target the best deal; two good bets are autoinsurance.com and carinsurancerates.com.

But read the fine print, because what you invest to qualify for a discount may wind up being a total waste. For example, New York and New Jersey offer discounts for antitheft devices, but one of these could shave just pennies off your bill. "You could spend two hundred dollars to have your vehicle identification number etched onto your windows so police can track your stolen car, but the 15% antitheft discount you get for that in New Jersey only comes off your comprehensive coverage, which guards against things like theft and weather-related damage, not your comparable collision coverage or overall premium," says State Farm insurance agent Ed Kalpagian of Allendale, NJ. In my family's case, that would translate to a measly $7.52 in savings per year.

More wallet-friendly tips: Merge car and home insurance at the same company — called "bundling" (my family saved $264 a year this way); consider increasing your deductible (we upped ours from $500 to $2,000 to trim $150 per year); and guard your good driving record. That's where I blew it. I was ticketed for not coming to a complete halt at a stop sign (though I could have sworn I did). That put two points on my license and, for the next three years, pumped up our premium costs from $562 to $762 for six months — ouch!

4. Never overpay for a roadside rescue again

You can spend $250 or more for a tow, $65 for a jump-start or for a locksmith to open the car door — and when you're desperate for help, odds are you won't shop around for the lowest price. Avoid getting gouged by purchasing abasic AAA membership (aaa.com). The $38 to $80 annual fee entitles you to at least four roadside service calls, including tows, tire changes, battery boosts, and lockouts. (Do the math: That's a max of $20 per rescue.) And the peace of mind it brings you is almost priceless.

5. Beware of rock-bottom-price promises from car dealers

Go ahead, be skeptical when you see mailings and TV ads for 0% financing when you buy a car or convert a lease. These lowball pitches are often bait-and-switch tactics — unless you have a golden credit record. "Most of those ad claims apply only to the best-case scenario — to people who are a very good credit risk," says Rod Davis, senior vice president of enterprise programs for the Council of Better Business Bureaus. Everyone else won't get that sweet deal.

To find out how likely you are to qualify, go to annualcreditreport.com or call 877-322-8228 to request a free copy of your credit report under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. That way, you can see the same data the dealer will use and gauge how big a bargaining chip you have. Also, shop around for the best interest rate before leasing or buying. Compare rates at the dealer, bank, and credit union; the last will often have the lowest.

And before you talk to any salesperson about buying a car — new or used — check Kelley Blue Book (kbb.com) to get the suggested retail value based on condition, extras, and mileage. Arrive armed with the facts, and negotiate for the best price; it's a buyer's market. I once asked again and again for a CD player to be included in the price of a vehicle, and I won — even though the poor sales guy had to go back to his manager several times before finally granting my wish.

6. DIY for lightweight repairs

Definitely refill your own windshield washer fluid (snag a huge jug for $1.99 at the supermarket), and go to an auto-parts store like AutoZone for wiper-blade refills (they start at about $5 each, versus an estimated shop cost of $50 for parts and labor). Someone on staff can likely assist you with snapping them on for free, but if not, all you need is a screwdriver. For more money-saving DIY repairs, check the videos and tips at mechanicadvisor.com; they could put you in the driver's seat for even bigger savings.